Air Force Still Targeting Fort Smith’s 188th Fighter Wing

WASHINGTON — The Arkansas National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing based in Fort Smith would remain on the chopping block under a revised budget plan the Air Force has begun shopping on Capitol Hill.

The latest proposal would retain the A-10 mission at Air National Guard bases in Michigan and Indiana but would still remove the mission from Arkansas. Fort Smith would get a drone mission.

Congress has flatly rejected an earlier Air Force proposal that would have slashed $487 billion in spending over the next decade because the cuts fell heavily on the Air National Guard.

In fact, Congress has blocked the Air Force from shifting any Air Guard missions under a temporary budget resolution that extends until March.

Arkansas National Guard Adjutant Gen. William Wofford on Friday briefed Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., about the latest Air Force proposal. Pryor’s staff said he was livid.

In a statement, Pryor said he will continue to work with other members of the Arkansas delegation to protect the A-10 mission.

“To put it simply, I’m extremely disappointed in the Air Force’s decision,” Pryor said. “Despite our repeated urgings, we still haven’t received adequate information about how this decision was made or why the 188th Fighter Wing — one of the most cost-effective and -efficient bases — has been targeted.”

The Air Force has made no formal presentation of its latest proposal and won’t likely do so until next year when the 113th Congress convenes and begins to consider appropriations for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, 2013.

The 188th Steering Committee, a seven-member panel appointed by the 188th Fighter Wing/Fort Chaffee Community Council, has also been briefed on the new plan and stands ready to fight against it.

“Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, their staffers, the 188th steering committee, and the community council are personally committed to reminding the Air Force of why it makes no sense to dismantle an award-winning, cost-effective, and highly proficient combat unit under the guise of budget constraints,” said Tracy Winchell, a spokeswoman for Fort Smith.

The Arkansas delegation has asked the Air Force to provide documentation behind its decision to remove the A-10 mission from Fort Smith. Pryor’s staff said they have received no data to support the decision, and all the evidence they have found suggests the Fort Smith wing is the most capable and cost effective.